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In the book Girls Fall Down, a photographer named Alex uses his camera to document the hidden parts of the city he loves.

Maggie Helwig’s story has inspired many readers, and was named the Toronto Public Library’s 2012 One Book community read.

In celebration of the book, the Library asked for photos of your “Hidden Toronto.” The library was looking for images that captured your favourite part of the city and documented its inner beauty, or the signs of change and conflict.

Only five images were going to be chosen as winners. But Star photographer Richard Lautens was so impressed by the pool of quality photography that 10 were chosen.

The winning pictures were selected based on content, image quality, creativity, uniqueness and overall visual appeal. More than 110 images were submitted, all of which are available for viewing on the Library’s website on the One Book Hidden Toronto Photo Contest page.

Photog’s Thoughts: Looks like two different buildings merging into one, like lovers kissing. A spot that is not found on the main street.

Lautens’ Take: A classic image. It is an ageless image with a great use of form and light. The use of black and white enhances the mood and conjures up images of Gotham City or perhaps Metropolis from another generation. It is a hidden view of a very public place. This is one of the few images that would be equally at home hanging in a condo, mansion, hotel room, office, public building or a gallery.

Photog’s Thoughts: If you have never been for a walk through the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, you’re missing out. Being one of the most beautiful softscapes in the city, it has a bloom for every season, and some of the most mature varieties of both trees and shrubs around. Meandering paths allow for runners and walkers alike to explore this microenvironment at one’s own pace.

Lautens’ Take: An ethereal image. There is some great unseen statuary in the cemeteries of Toronto but it is up to the photographer to make a real statement with them. The backlit, overexposed light filtering through the mist and leaves conjures up a feeling that the statue is not alone.

Photog’s thoughts: They said, “if you’re going to do it, it better be a work of art.” City officials usually deny permission to build enclosed pedestrian bridges crossing streets. To connect St. Michael’s main hospital building with its new Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute was no exception. The bridge stretches from the patient care building on the south side of Shuter to the research and education work taking place in the new building on the north side of Shuter St. Physically, the pattern of the interwoven steel resembles a stent, a medical device used to create a passage for blood flow to the heart.

Lautens’ Take: This is a very accomplished photograph. Technically, it is superb with the difficult lighting conditions. Although not in a hidden corner of the city, the photographer found some hidden beauty up in the air while most of us keep our eyes on the ground.

Photog’s Thoughts: Looking down a set of tracks at Union Station. This is where I board the train home. After a long day, it’s nice to relax on the GO.

Lautens’ Take: This is a wonderfully evocative image. Union Station is invariably shown from inside the Great Hall or from the towering pillars on the exterior. The photographer has a great eye to spot the wonderful symmetry of the tracks and the lights and great ability to produce the photo.

Photog’s Thoughts: This was taken in the Beach by the lake which, under the right conditions, can become an eerie frozen landscape. People are always shocked when I tell them this was taken in Toronto.

Lautens’ Take: Very few Torontonians go to the Beach in the winter. In summer, the area is extremely popular but is truly a hidden gem in the ice and snow. The framing is wonderful with the hard line of the horizon contrasting the sharp fangs of icicles, which in turn contrast with the ice-cream scoops of frozen water emerging from the lake.

Photog’s Thoughts: Trinity Square is one of my favourite lunchtime escapes from the hustle and bustle of food courts, traffic and crowded streets in downtown Toronto. Edited in Photoshop CS5, converted to black and white and enhanced a little using curves and the blur feature.

Lautens’ Take: This image looks like it was taken in old Stockholm rather than Toronto. It is a lovely pastoral setting that exudes calm and serenity. Who wouldn’t want to be the girl in the image? Adding the human form to any photograph can really help draw in the viewer. It not only gives a sense of scale but also allows us to personalize the experience.

Photog’s Thoughts: Scarborough Bluffs is a place I often go to and have photographed it in all seasons. It always has something new to offer.

Lautens’ Take: The lines, form and tonality of the image are superb. The subtle and delicate gradations of white and grey are nicely offset by the hard, broken teeth of the fence. Almost unnoticed are the looming cliffs behind that anchor the image and can add a subtle menace to keep it honest.

Photog’s Thoughts: The corner of downtown where new art was going up amidst old traditions — both depicting symbols of faith, maybe evolution, maybe reinterpretations. Regardless, each more beautiful for its relationship to the other.

Lautens’ Take: This image shows a true hidden gem of a modern city. The old spire — with its monotone shades of grey and brown and straight symmetry — contrasts magnificently with the gaudy colours and organic forms of the graffiti. Almost lost in the graffiti is a central figure of a face with hands together in prayer to add a definitive connection between the two.

Camera: Leica D-Lux 4, which has a fixed 24mm Vario-Summicron lens. The image was shot at ISO 200 and at f:8.0.

Photog’s Thoughts: The well-hidden ruins of Christ Church-St. James near College and Shaw always struck me as a sad yet beautiful place. I spent many hours there over the years, watching as nature recaptured the remains of the building as entropy took its course.

Lautens’ Take: In a city of multi-million-dollar condos and glittering skyscrapers, it is incredible to think that a building like this exists. It would be more at home in the latest Tomb Raider video game than a modern metropolis. The post-production use of selective colour (look closely, there is only colour in the red roof on the left and the bushes in the foreground) works well in this case but the location itself provides all the texture and information that is needed.

Photog’s Thoughts: This photo was taken to display a rainless, silent storm passing over Toronto.

Lautens’ Take: An unlikely view of the skyline. It well marries the natural world around the city that is increasingly becoming forgotten with the modern technological wonders of our skyline. Leaving only a small flower bed of colour at the bottom allows the empty space of water between the two to serve as a reminder of the increasing divide between our roots and our future.

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